site.btaCertified Investors to Be Able to Lease Non-irrigated Agricultural Land, Seventh to Tenth Category

Parliament voted conclusively to amend and supplement the Investment Promotion Act on Wednesday. The draft was submitted by Aleksandar Ivanov, MP from GERB-UDF. The amendments envisage that investors who have received an investment class certificate will be able to sign lease agreements for the use of non-irrigated agricultural land, category 7 to 10, for a period not longer than 10 years.

According to the adopted amendments, the conclusion of lease agreements for land with an investor is possible under the provisions of the Ownership and Use of Agricultural Land Act, namely of "non-irrigated agricultural land, category 7 to 10, or uncategorizable, for a period not exceeding 10 years".

MP from Vazrazhdane objected to the changes. They insisted that their proposal should be accepted, namely that this should be done only in case no applications have been submitted for the use of these agricultural lands for their intended purpose - as agricultural lands. In the debate, Aleksandar Ivanov responded that the bill does not encourage the construction of photovoltaic parks and defined Vazrazhdane’s concerns about the agricultural lands in question as unfounded.

According to the adopted provisions, public enterprises will be able to sell, exchange or establish a limited real right over properties for consideration without public bidding auctions.

Explaining his vote against the amendments, Vazrazhdane MP, Kliment Shopov, said that the land owned by public enterprises, such as hospitals, airports, water and sanitation companies, ports, railways, should not be bought by investors without public bidding auctions, often at the tax assessment value, which is usually set at half of their actual market value.

According to the adopted texts, the price for the sale of the lands in question cannot be lower than the tax assessment value of the property.

The bill was approved on first reading on April 9.